How We're Doing

Today is my 1 year anniversary of living in California. In some ways, it has seemed like the longest year of my life. In other ways, it has flown by. Regardless of how long it has seemed, 1 year has passed away from our families and we survived. Here's how we're doing.

Homesickness

For the first 6 months, I cried almost every day. I was painfully homesick. I prayed for a way to go back to Tennessee where JD could keep his current job. I was pretty miserable. It wasn't until after my first trip back home that I started to feel at home here. Now, I still miss my family, but I really feel rooted in our new home and in our new community. It feels good to like where I live and finally feel at home here. Now if only our entire family would pack up and move to Los Angeles, things would be perfect. 

Friends

Almost immediately after moving here, I made friends. We started out meeting at playgrounds so our kids could play, but then we grew real friendships. We lend parenting advice, coffee creamer, and shoulders to cry on when needed. We get together so we can talk. We fill in for faraway family members at holiday dinners. We watch each other's kids. I can honestly say it is because of my friends that I have adjusted to California so well. Without them, this would be a big ol' lonely state.

Geography

There is not a lot to be desired about our town. It's small so I have to drive out of town to do any shopping other than Target and the grocery store. There are only a handful of restaurants here and they are hit or miss in the deliciousness department. And there is a lot of crime in the surrounding areas. But, we live walking distance from the clean beach, the fishing pier, and about 10 playgrounds/parks. For the girls, this area is really great and they are thrilled with all of the stuff they get to experience weekly. JD and I often joke about how different our L.A. experience would be if we didn't have children. We would live downtown, check out the nightlife, and eat at world class restaurants. But since we do have these precious girls, our L.A. experience is much more family friendly. 

Climate

It truly is paradise here. 9 months out of the year it never gets warmer than 70 degrees and is always breezy and sunny. The nights and mornings are chilly, the afternoons sunny. We love it.

What We Don't Love

The cost of living is ridiculous in California. JD makes a lot more than he did in Tennessee, but our rent is 3x what our mortgage was back east, gas is $1+ a gallon more here, and food costs are sky high. Thankfully we live walking distance to so much fun stuff because after we pay rent, buy gas, and eat, we have nothing left. Kidding, sort of. 

We really, really miss our church back home. We found a great church here, but it is 45 minutes away and it's just not the same as the church I attended since I was 12. Honestly, if we are regularly homesick about anything it is our church in Tennessee. Sigh.

Traffic is still the worst thing about living here. We hate it.

In a nutshell, we are doing pretty great. We really like California and feel pretty blessed to live here. I am kind of proud of us for moving across country and setting up house with our little family in a brand new place without any major meltdowns. 1 year down, wonder how many more to go....

Rite of Passage

I got my ears pierced when I was 4. I remember the whole thing vividly: going to Merle Norman with my mom, picking out the aquamarine studs that would be my first pair of earrings, trying not to cry, and feeling really grown up and brave.

When Beatrice was born, my mom and her husband gave her a tiny pair of diamond studs. "Now you have to get her ears pierced," they said. I didn't want to do it while she was a baby though. I wanted to make a special day of it when she was old enough to remember the experience. She has been asking to get them pierced for awhile now so while we were in Tennessee last weekend, I took her.

She went with her cousin, Addie, and it was a really sweet day for them. They were excited together, nervous together, and comforted each other after the shock (and pain) wore off. It was really special for us mamas too since our kids only get to see each other a couple of times a year. Now whenever each girl remembers getting her ears pierced or shops for earrings, they will always think of their cousin.

The jewelry store we went to had a rule that kids had to be 6 and older to get their ears pierced. We didn't know that before showing up, so my sister in law pleaded with them to make an exception. The owner came out and said that they would pierce my almost 3 year old's ears if she said she wanted them done and would sit still in the chair. Beatrice not only told him she wanted her ear pierced, but she also volunteered to go first! My big girl.

 

That last picture above is when they pulled the trigger on their guns and pierced my baby's earlobes with pointy, sharp steel. About 3 seconds later, she jumped off of that chair and buried her face in my neck, sobbing for 10 minutes. It was really sad. I cried too and instantly regretted bringing her. She told me she was so mad at me and she didn't want her ears pierced anymore. It was really pitiful and awful. Poor Addie had to go next after watching the whole thing. Bless her heart, she was so brave.

After several minutes of crying into their mamas' shoulders, the girls were ready to check out their new jewels.

Thank goodness the girls had each other.

The sales ladies were kinda freaked out by all of the crying so we paid and took the girls to get ice cream. All of the tears were dried up by the time we arrived at the treat shoppe. They sent cellphone photos to their daddies and admired their earrings in our mirrors. A few hours later, they were completely over the trauma and pain and were proudly showing off their new pierced ears to everyone.

Beatrice is doing a really great job at caring for her ears. I taught her how to twist the studs and she sits still while I douse them in the peroxide cleaning solution twice a day. I love the way they look on her little earlobes and she is really excited to add to her jewelry collection. Yay for pierced ears!

Welcome

The purpose of my 3 week trip to Tennessee was to be there for the birth of my brother and sister in law's first baby. It was incredible to be apart of the whole thing: the waiting, the gender reveal, the excitement of welcoming a new family member, and witnessing the birth of a family.

There is something really amazing about witnessing people you love become parents. I knew Seth and Jenny would be awesome at it, I have watched them love my babies for the past 3 years. But it is entirely different seeing new parents fall in love with their first baby. I never realized how emotional I would be watching it all unfold. I cried every time I was with them and their new baby girl, Ryan.

Here's a peak at their big day:

 

 

 

 

I am so grateful to have been there to welcome baby Ryan and watch my brother and sister in law become parents. Congrats, you guys!

3 Weeks

I just got home from a 3 week trip to Tennessee. It was great spending time with my family, but let me tell you, 3 weeks is a long time to be away from home.

We spent the majority of our time at my mom's house. We only had use of her car here and there when she wasn't using it. So we took a lot of walks up and down her driveway checking out the cows and farm dogs. It was no surprise that Penelope's first animal sounds were moo and woof. 3 weeks is a long time to be stuck in the country without a car.

3 weeks is also a long time to sleep in someone else's bed. My mom and her family like hard mattresses. JD and I like soft mattresses. The bed that I slept on while I was there was like sleeping on a concrete slab. Everything on my body hurt. My neck, back, and shoulders were sore everyday. 3 weeks is a long time to long for your bed.

This is the longest voluntary separation JD and I have had. I honestly didn't realize how much I missed him until I saw him waiting for us at the gate at LAX. I ran to him! Our girls screamed when they saw him. It was awesome. 3 weeks is a long time to be away from daddy.

It kind of sounds like I'm complaining - I'm not. The girls and I had a great trip and spent much needed time with our family. It was just a long time to be gone.

I Gave Myself A Concussion

I'm sort of known for my clumsiness. I trip over my feet, I snag my toes on doorways, I bang my funny bone into walls. I blame my extra long extremities. Typically my injuries are superficial and my accidents are more of a nuisance than a source of concern. My clumsiness has been kind of funny.

And then one day I gave myself a concussion.

It happened on Saturday around lunchtime. I was doing laundry in my mom's laundry room when I walked into a sloped wall/ceiling, knocking myself silly for a moment. I knew that I hit my head really hard, but I never had a headache so I wasn't too concerned. I wanted to take a nap though, so I did.

When I woke up, I felt off. I was slightly dizzy and somewhat nauseated. I could still function alright so I took the girls to church and out to dinner with my brothers and sisters in law. Everyone thought I was acting a little loopy, but I felt mostly fine. I didn't worry about it.

On Sunday morning, all of that changed. I woke up unable to get out of bed. The room was spinning 100 miles per hour and I couldn't stand up. When I did, I vomited. It happened to be the morning my mom went on an overnight school trip with my youngest brother so I was alone with the girls, completey incapable of caring for them. I called my brother and sister in law to come over and help.

In the meantime, I googled. Big mistake. Googling health problems is the dumbest thing a person can do when they are faced with a health problem. I read things about diminished brain function, coma, and death. My sister in law found me in tears whispering about how I didn't want to die from a concussion...

At that point, everyone decided it was best that I went to the ER. We were all pretty sure I had a concussion with the dizziness and vomiting I was experiencing, but I wanted to be sure there wasn't anything worse going on with my brain since I couldn't stand up.

4 hours and a CT scan later, I was diagnosed with a (self-inflicted) concussion and given a Zofran for the nausea. I still felt horrible, but was relieved that my brain wasn't bleeding or permantly damaged. I came and home rested and accepted my family's help with the girls. I went to bed praying for a full recovery by this morning.

Today, I feel great. I woke up with some dizziness. Everything seemed slanted and distorted so I was still a little off. I prayed and by lunchtime, all dizziness was gone (praise God!). I feel totally normal now and am believing that my head is at 100% capacity for good. Amen!

As for the wall that knocked me down, well, it's still there. I've determined that I won't be doing anymore laundry while I'm here. It is definitely too risky.

Owning It

I don't like fish. This is something I've hidden for many years. I've pushed crab cakes around my plate and choked down microscopic bites of shrimp pretending I was eating it for far too long. I've decided enough is enough. I'm sick of this charade. I just don't like fish.

This is not an easy thing to admit. Liking fish seems like a very "adult" thing to do. You are born, you grow up, you get married, you eat fish. It's the natural progression of things. And if you are an adult and don't like to eat fish, people look at you like you are 12 and like that filet you just ordered is equivalent to a happy meal.

But the thing is, I like filets. I always have. And I just want to order my filet without the pressure of trying someone's cedar planked salmon. No thank you, I don't like fish. 

I don't just not like the taste of fish, I have a physical reaction to it. My throats closes up, I gag, I can't swallow. This all might be psychosomatic, but it's real and it freaks me out. Plus, I have never smelled an appetizing piece of fish. Ever. It all smells, well, fishy. Like ocean vomit. 

I wished I liked fish, I really do. It's low calorie and the health benefits are undeniable, but I want to barf every time it's near me. I try it every so often, just to be sure my taste buds haven't changed. But it's always the same reaction. Dry heave, gag, wave of nausea. So I'm finally going to own it; I just don't like fish and I'm not ashamed anymore. Pass the filet. 

One Of The Family

One of the hardest things about living 2500 miles away from our family is hearing about what everyone is up to instead of being apart of it. In the past 10 months, I've missed Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, birthdays, pregnancies, funerals, happy things, sad things, family dinners, weddings, first birthdays, and so much more. Thankfully, there is Facebook and Instagram and cell phones to keep me in touch and up to date on all of our family's happenings.

It's not the same though. I want to be there. I want to rub my sister in law's swollen belly. I want to feast on Christmas desserts and gorge myself on Easter ham at my Nana's house. I want to be apart of the stories, not just hear about them from my mom.

And for the next month, I get to do just that. My mom just landed at LAX and is staying with us for a week before the girls and I head to Tennessee for the rest of the month. I can't wait. I know I only have a month to spend with everyone, but I want to do as much as I can. I plan to cram in as much family time as I possibly can. I get to be apart of the stories of my family's life for a short time and I can't wait.

I miss these guys.